The Art of Obtaining Introductions from Clients

Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.

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Dear Bev,

We do a nice job of growing by referrals. Our clients are well-connected and many are comfortable telling their friends and family members about what we do and how we do it. The core planning we do is at the heart of their commitment to us. We spend several sessions preparing the first plan for a client; at every meeting, twice a year, we review changes and discuss any impact.

The issue is that even though referrals are strong, they come from only about 10% of our client base. Don’t misunderstand; 10% of 500+ families is a good number and we receive multiple referrals from each of these clients. The overall referral numbers are strong.

My concern is that 90% of our clients who are seemingly very happy with the relationship are not saying anything. We want to implement an initiative to grab the attention of these clients and help them help us grow.

Where do we start? What is the best way to approach clients who are not referring? Should we be happy with our 10% and just focus on these clients?

M.S.